A review of all the action from Round 10 of the 2023 Smithy’s VFL season.
The cream is starting to rise to the top in the Smithy’s VFL as three clubs make a break from a tight pack that has only two wins separating fourth and 13th, while Sydney and Coburg’s defeats ensured a 14-year first for the competition.
SYDNEY SWANS vs CARLTON
SYDNEY SWANS 2.4, 5.7, 7.8, 8.10 (58)
CARLTON 2.2, 7.4, 13.6, 17.8 (110)
CARLTON powered to a 52-point win over Sydney Swans at the SCG to keep itself in touch with the top 10 and hand the Swans a 10th consecutive defeat on Friday.
The Swans led at quarter-time but the Blues gained control early in the second term, getting out by 22 points before two late goals got the home team back within nine at the main break.
But that was where the resistance ended, with Ned Cahill goaling in the opening minute of the third term and Carlton booting 10 goals to three for a percentage-boosting win that means the VFL has two winless teams after 10 rounds for the first time since Frankston and Bendigo suffered the same malaise in 2009.
The Blues won every stat category comfortably, including tackles 54-38, as their midfield simply did as they pleased, led by Paddy Dow, who surely must get his next AFL opportunity after piling up 36 disposals, five marks, 13 clearances, six tackles, 11 inside-50s and a goal, with Zac Fisher also hard to ignore after his 40 disposals, eight marks and a goal.
Archie Stevens (35 disposals, six marks, eight clearances, six inside-50s), Jaxon Binns (31 disposals, five entries, five rebounds, one goal), Alex Cincotta (31 disposals, eight marks, five rebounds), Lochie O’Brien (28 disposals, eight marks, seven entries, two goals), Jack Silvagni (26 disposals, 10 marks, five entries, five rebounds), Cahill (21 disposals, eight marks, three goals) and Lachie Plowman (24 disposals, five marks) also stuffed the stats sheet and Luke Parks took 10 marks and had five rebounds down back.
Angus Sheldrick (36 disposals, nine clearances, six entries) and Dylan Stephens (35 disposals, five clearances, 12 entries, five rebounds, one goal) were everywhere for Sydney and Lachie Rankin (23 disposals, seven marks, seven rebounds), Caleb Mitchell (21 disposals, six marks, one goal), Will Gould (21 disposals, five marks, six rebounds), Hamish Morrison (22 disposals, seven marks) also tried hard.
WERRIBEE vs CASEY DEMONS
WERRIBEE 2.2, 8.3, 13.4, 16.10 (106)
CASEY DEMONS 3.2, 7.3, 12.4, 12.6 (78)
WERRIBEE roared into the top four and claimed its second major scalp in two weeks by running away from reigning premier Casey Demons by 28 points at Avalon Airport Oval.
After powering over the top of Gold Coast last week, the Tigers stuck with the Demons in a rollicking contest for three quarters that included seven lead changes and seven level scores, before dominating the last term with 3.6 to 0.2.
The victory was their fifth in a row and lifted them to 6-2 record, with their other results including a 93-point belting of fellow contender Williamstown plus a win over grand finalist Southport and a one-point loss to undefeated Brisbane Lions, both in Queensland.
And it’s no surprise who the star of the show was, with dual Liston medallist Tom Gribble unstoppable on his way to 36 possessions, seven marks, seven clearances, five tackles, eight inside-50s and a goal.
His classy midfield cohorts were also outstanding, with Dom Brew (29 disposals, 10 clearances, seven tackles, one goal), Kye Declase (28 disposals, seven marks, six entries, one goal), Shaun Mannagh (27 disposals, six clearances, five tackles, nine entries) and Jack Henderson (22, 10 tackles) were all winners, with Louis Pinnuck (20, five rebounds) strong in defence and Hudson Garoni kicking three goals.
In his second game of the season, Matt Hanson (20 disposals, eight clearances) was in great touch before sustaining an injury that forced him from the field during the third quarter.
Adam Tomlinson kept Casey in the game for a long time with 29 disposals, eight marks and a remarkable 14 rebounds, finding support in the back half from Roan Steele (22 disposals, five rebounds), while skipper Mitch White put in a huge shift against that Werribee midfield with 24 touches, eight clearances, seven inside-50s, five rebounds and a goal.
GOLD COAST SUNS vs FOOTSCRAY BULLDOGS
GOLD COAST SUNS 3.6, 8.11, 13.13, 21.16 (142)
FOOTSCRAY BULLDOGS 1.5, 5.7, 9.12, 10.17 (77)
GOLD Coast bounced back from its first loss of the season in style, crushing Footscray by 65 points at Darwin’s TIO Stadium.
The Suns had shown a little vulnerability in the past fortnight as they gave up big leads against Southport and Werribee for a narrow win and a narrow loss, but this time around they extended their lead at every change.
Most impressively, they answered those two last-quarter collapses with eight goals to one this time to consolidate second spot on the ladder.
After a costly error in the loss to the Tigers, Charlie Constable mirrored his team’s fortunes with the perfect answer, grabbing 35 disposals and eight marks while delivering 10 rebounds. Sam Flanders (27 disposals, five marks, 10 tackles) and three inclusions to the team – Bodhi Uwland (23 disposals, five marks, six rebounds), Connor Blakely (23 disposals, five marks, eight clearances, one goal) and Brandon Ellis (22 disposals, eight marks, six clearances, two goals) – found top form.
Brodie McLaughlin was terrific in attack with 10 marks and two goals, Jake Stein (20 disposals, eight marks, eight rebounds) starred in defence, with Jeremy Sharp (18 disposals, 10 marks, one goal) and Sam Day (four goals) also were too much for the Bulldogs to handle.
Captain Lachie Sullivan starred for Footscray with 32 disposals, nine clearances and five entries, with Toby McLean (30 disposals, six marks, one goal), Robbie McComb (26 disposals, nine clearances, five tackles, seven entries), Rhylee West (23 disposals, five marks, six clearances, six tackles, one goal) and Hayden Crozier (22 disposals, five marks, five tackles, eight rebounds, one goal) all putting their hands up for AFL recalls.
SANDRINGHAM vs COBURG
SANDRINGHAM 3.5, 6.9, 9.13, 15.13 (103)
COBURG 0.1, 4.3, 7.3, 7.4 (46)
SANDRINGHAM claimed its second win in three weeks and consigned Coburg to its 12th consecutive loss with a dominant 57-point victory at RSEA Park.
The Zebras led all night but did have some nervous moments when the Lions kicked three out of four goals to draw within 13 points midway through the third quarter, before AFL omission Tim Membrey’s only goal before three quarter time broke the visitors’ resolve.
Sandringham slammed on 6.0 to 0.1 in the last quarter to blow the final margin out as Marcus Windhager continued his dominant VFL form with another 37 touches to go with seven marks, five clearances, 12 inside-50s and a goal.
Son of a gun Tyson Milne (31 disposals, five marks, six rebounds) starred in defence, Tom Campbell (22 disposals, six marks, 21 hitouts, five clearances, two goals) ruled the ruck, Leo Connolly (28 disposals, six entries) and Vincent Zagari (25 disposals) won plenty of it through the middle and youngster Isaac Keeler kicked three goals.
Mitch Podhajski (29 disposals, 10 marks, 12 rebounds) was again Coburg’s best, with Hugo McGlashan (30 disposals, six marks, one goal) continuing his fine debut season, Braedyn Gillard (34 disposals, five entries) racking them up and Jesse Corigliano (25 disposals, 12 marks, six rebounds) playing a great captain’s knock.
FRANKSTON vs BRISBANE LIONS
FRANKSTON 2.3, 3.6, 6.9, 8.10 (58)
BRISBANE LIONS 4.3, 7.7, 9.10, 13.15 (93)
BRISBANE LIONS had to work hard all night to see off a brave Frankston by 35 points and keep its undefeated record intact at Kinetic Stadium on Saturday night.
The Lions were always in control of the match and never looked like losing, but they were also unable to feel totally comfortable as the plucky Dolphins stuck around in the near freezing conditions and even drew within 14 points early in the last quarter before the visitors’ class came to the fore.
Despite losing Rhys Mathieson, Noah Answerth, Shadeau Brain and Harry Arnold to injury and unavailability at selection, plus Tom Fullarton and James Madden before the bounce, the Lions still fielded a powerful team and looked like they would win by a big margin when they kicked the first three goals.
Jarryd Lyons (34 disposals, six clearances, seven tackles, six entries, five rebounds, two goals) roamed far and wide with his ball use being a class above and his second goal being a quality finish that finally broke the Dolphins’ back.
Deven Robertson had 25 disposals, five clearances and laid what must be close to a record 21 tackles in a bullocking performance – amazingly nobody else stuck more than seven – while Jaxon Prior (30 disposals, five marks, five entries, eight rebounds) dominated in defence.
Others who impressed included James Tunstill (29 disposals, eight clearances) through the middle, Harry Sharp (23 disposals, eight marks, five tackles, five entries, two goals) and Darcy Fort (16 disposals, 43 hitouts, nine clearances, five entries, two goals) who was a behemoth in the ruck.
The Lions’ forwards were all dangerous, with Bruce Reville kicking three goals in his first outing of the season and Darryl McDowell-White and Nakia Cockatoo setting several up, with the former booting a stunning goal his legendary father would have been proud of.
Frankston lost star half-back Ryley Stoddart before the game and Taine Barlow stepped up to the plate, having 29 disposals, eight marks and 12 rebounds, while Stoddart’s replacement Justin Davies impressed on debut in keeping Wylie Buzza to one goal.
Trent Mynott turned in a classy performance that yielded 23 possessions, seven clearances, seven tackles and three goals, including two absolute pearlers in traffic, while Connor Riley (23 disposals, six tackles), Kai Owens (23 disposals, eight clearances, seven entries), Bailey Lambert (20 disposals, six marks), Will Fordham (22 disposals) and Josh Butland (three goals) gave their all.
COLLINGWOOD vs NORTH MELBOURNE
COLLINGWOOD 1.1, 3.5, 3.9, 5.13 (43)
NORTH MELBOURNE 1.6, 4.10, 7.12, 11.16 (82)
A VASTLY improved North Melbourne climbed to eighth spot with after taking Collingwood apart by 39 points at AIA Centre on Sunday.
The Kangaroos dominated the game from start to finish, only keeping the Magpies in touch early with poor finishing in front of goal that kept the margin to 11 points at half-time.
But with the goal kicking malaise spreading to the home team, North banged on three goals in four minutes during the third term to steal a match-winning 27-point break at the final change before going on with the job in the last quarter.
Darcy Tucker shone for the visitors with 31 touches, five marks, five tackles and five inside-50s, as Connor Downie (22 disposals, six entries, one goal), captain Jack Watkins (22 disposals, one goal), Aidan Corr (19 disposals, eight rebounds) and Louis Butler (21 disposals) were all vital to the victory, with Kayne Turner also a match winner on the back of four goals.
Debutant ruckman Cooper Keogh had a wonderful first game with 38 hitouts and five clearances against Collingwood’s double team of Oscar Steene and Aiden Begg.
Trent Bianco was clearly Collingwood’s best, winning 27 possessions, six marks and nine rebounds, with Fin Macrae (19 disposals, five clearances), Campbell Lane (19 disposals, five entries), Ed Allan (22 disposals) and Trey Ruscoe (19 disposals) also having their moments.
GEELONG CATS vs PORT MELBOURNE
GEELONG CATS 1.1, 5.4, 8.11, 10.13 (73)
PORT MELBOURNE 1.4, 4.7, 7.9, 8.12 (60)
GEELONG moved ahead of the ledger and climbed into the top 10 with a hard-fought 13-point victory over Port Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium.
Neither team was able to hit the scoreboard until a Jordan Lane behind for the Borough in the 12th minute and the teams traded momentum swings with the visitors up by three points at quarter-time and the Cats by four at the main break.
It was three points at the 10-minute mark of the third term when Geelong took over, only to kick 1.7 to 1.1 to keep the Borough in the game, but Tom Panuccio’s two goals in the space of four minutes early in the last term finally put them to bed.
Oliver Dempsey responded to his AFL omission in style with 27 disposals, six inside-50s and a goal, Tanner Lovell picked a career-best 25 touches in his first game of the season, vice-captain Dan Capiron had 21 disposals and seven rebounds, Matty Lloyd compiled 18 disposals and eight rebounds, while captain Angus Byrne took six marks and booted three majors.
Port Melbourne star Ethan Phillips gave a timely reminder of his quality ahead of Wednesday night’s Mid-Season Rookie Draft, plucking 15 marks on his way to 21 disposals, as did Sam Naismith (14 disposals, 37 hitouts, seven clearances).
Borough kipper Harvey Hooper (27 disposals, seven clearances, seven tackles, seven entries), Fraser Rosman (25 disposals, five marks, six entries, five rebounds), Tom Cameron (22 disposals, 10 rebounds) and Dylan Clarke (22 disposals, five clearances, 12 tackles) also staked their claims with strong outings.
ESSENDON vs BOX HILL HAWKS
ESSENDON 2.2, 5.4, 6.6, 8.10 (58)
BOX HILL HAWKS 4.2, 8.5, 10.9, 15.15 (105)
A CLASSIC performance from Ned Long lifted Box Hill Hawks past Essendon by 47 points at NEC Hangar on Sunday to go a game clear in the top three.
The Hawks have only lost one match – to reigning premier Casey Demons at Wonthaggi – and they always looked too good for a gallant but outclassed Bomber line-up as Long blitzed them and Callum Brown and Finn Maginness knocked up winning possessions.
Long had 38 disposals, five marks, 12 clearances, 12 tackles and eight inside-50s and capped off his performance with three goals, including a ripper to put the final exclamation point on the win.
Brown had 39 touches and five each of clearances, tackles and rebounds and Maginness grabbed 36 disposals and took five marks.
Box Hill grabbed control when Josh Bennetts kicked his second goal just before quarter-time and it added three more in the first six minutes of the second term, with only a three-goal burst just before half-time giving the home team any hope as a 5.6 to 2.4 last quarter pushed the final margin to eight goals.
The Hawks’ dominance was shown in the 426-315 disposal count, which led to wins of 45-28 for clearances and 61-37 for inside-50s.
Jack Scrimshaw (29 disposals, six marks, five tackles) was dominant in defence and Ed Phillips (23 disposals, five marks, eight entries, one goal), Cooper Stephens (22 disposals, five marks, eight tackles, two goals) and Henry Hustwaite (28 disposals, eight tackles) outstanding in the middle.
Mid-season draft fancies Ethan Stanley (16 disposals, six entries, two goals) and Ryan Maric (12 disposals, two goals) were much better than their numbers suggest in attack, while fellow hopeful Clay Tucker had 10 touches and 20 hitouts on debut.
The Bombers lost Massimo D’Ambrosio and Alwyn Davey before the game, but their backline held up well, with Rhett Montgomerie (19 disposals, 10 marks) impressing and Nik Cox (16 disposals, five rebounds) doing well in his first game of the year before being cotton-woolled at three quarter-time.
Riley Loton (25 disposals, six marks, five tackles, one goal) played his best VFL game in the middle, Callum McCarty (23 disposals, six tackles) impressed in just his second match, Josh Hotchkin (14 disposals, five marks, 36 hitouts) was the best big man on the ground and Quinton Narkle ended up with 23, seven clearances and five tackles despite being quiet for long periods of the day.
BYE: GWS Giants, Northern Bullants, Richmond, Southport Sharks, Williamstown
ROUND 11 FIXTURE
Saturday, June 3: Southport Sharks vs Casey Demons (12:05pm, Fankhauser Reserve); Coburg vs Werribee (1:05pm, Piranha Park); Port Melbourne vs Gold Coast Suns (1:05pm, ETU Stadium – VFLW double header); Box Hill Hawks vs Williamstown (2:05pm, Box Hill City Oval – VFLW double header); Carlton vs Frankston (2:05pm, IKON Park – VFLW double header); Footscray Bulldogs vs Geelong Cats (2:35pm, Avalon Airport Oval). Sunday, June 4: GWS Giants vs Richmond (9:30am, Giants Stadium – AFL curtain raiser); Essendon vs North Melbourne (1:35pm, NEC Hangar – VFLW double header); Northern Bullants vs Collingwood (2:05pm, Genis Steel Oval – VFLW double header). Bye: Brisbane Lions, Sandringham, Sydney Swans.
Click here to view full fixture and ladder.
Broadcast and streaming: All matches in the 2023 Smithy’s VFL and rebel VFLW seasons will be live streamed free via the AFL website (AFL.com.au) and AFL Live Official App. Smithy’s VFL broadcast partner, the Seven Network, will continue to show one weekly game live and free on the Seven Network in Victoria and on 7Plus nationally. Casey Radio 97.7FM and 3WBC 94.1FM are also broadcasting matches.
Live scoring and stats: Live scoring and stats will be available via both the AFL Live Official App and VFL App. Download the VFL App from the Apple or Google Play stores.
Ticketing: Where Smithy’s VFL matches are ticketed, entry is $10 for adults, $5 for concession holders and kids under 15 are free. Some venues don't charge for entry. AFL ticketing prices will apply for VFL matches played as curtain-raisers and curtain-closers to AFL matches at AFL venues.
